*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of ago

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-? Proto-Indo-European *h₂u-s-? Proto-Germanic *uz- Proto-West Germanic *uʀ- Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁-der. Proto-Germanic *gāną Proto-West Germanic *gān Proto-West Germanic *uʀgā

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
postp

Before now, before the present time

adj

Gone; gone by; gone away; passed; passed away. · Nearly gone; dead. (used in Devonshire at the turn of the 19th century)

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-? Proto-Indo-European *h₂u-s-? Proto-Germanic *uz- Proto-West Germanic *uʀ- Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁-der. Proto-Germanic *gāną Proto-West Germanic *gān Proto-West Germanic *uʀgān Old English āgān Middle English agon English ago From Middle English ago, agon (“passed”), past participle of agon (“to depart, escape, pass”), from Old English āgān (“to go away, pass away, go forth, come to pass”), from Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”), *gāną (“to go”), equivalent to a- + gone, and by surface analysis, a- + go. Cognate with German ergehen (“to come to pass, fare, go forth”). Compare also Old Saxon āgangan (“to go or pass by”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽 (usgaggan, “to go forth”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionagoenm
  • Derivation mentionāgānang · to go away, pass away, go forth, come to pass
  • Derivation mention*uz-gem-pro · out
  • Cognate mentionergehende · to come to pass, fare, go forth
  • Cognate mentionāganganosx · to go or pass by
  • Cognate mention𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽got · to go forth
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:agon",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ud-s-?\nProto-Indo-European *h₂u-s-?\nProto-Germanic *uz-\nProto-West Germanic *uʀ-\nProto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁-der.\nProto-Germanic *gāną\nProto-West Germanic *gān\nProto-West Germanic *uʀgān\nOld English āgān\nMiddle English agon\nEnglish ago\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*uz-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*uʀ-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*ǵʰeh₁-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*gāną\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*gān\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*uʀgān\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"āgān\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"agon\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"ago\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"ago\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "ago"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English ago"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "āgān",
        "t": "to go away, pass away, go forth, come to pass"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English āgān (“to go away, pass away, go forth, come to pass”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*uz-",
        "t": "out"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *uz- (“out”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "pre",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "a",
        "3": "gone"
      },
      "expansion": "a- + gone"
    },
    {
      "name": "surf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "a-",
        "3": "go",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "by surface analysis, a- + go"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "ergehen",
        "t": "to come to pass, fare, go forth"
      },
      "expansion": "German ergehen (“to come to pass, fare, go forth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "osx",
        "2": "āgangan",
        "t": "to go or pass by"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Saxon āgangan (“to go or pass by”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽",
        "t": "to go forth"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽 (usgaggan, “to go forth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:agon",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ud-s-?\nProto-Indo-European *h₂u-s-?\nProto-Germanic *uz-\nProto-West Germanic *uʀ-\nProto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁-der.\nProto-Germanic *gāną\nProto-West Germanic *gān\nProto-West Germanic *uʀgān\nOld English āgān\nMiddle English agon\nEnglish ago"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*ud-s-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/úd"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂u-s-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂ew"
    ],
    [
      "*uz-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/uz-"
    ],
    [
      "*uʀ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/uʀ-"
    ],
    [
      "*ǵʰeh₁-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰeh₁-"
    ],
    [
      "*gāną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/gāną"
    ],
    [
      "*gān",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/gān"
    ],
    [
      "*uʀgān",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/uʀgān"
    ],
    [
      "āgān",
      "agan#Old_English:_go_out"
    ],
    [
      "agon",
      "agon#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ago",
      "ago#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "agon",
      "agon#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "agon",
      "agon#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "āgān",
      "agan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*uz-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/uz-"
    ],
    [
      "*gāną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/gāną"
    ],
    [
      "a-",
      "a-#English"
    ],
    [
      "gone",
      "gone#English"
    ],
    [
      "a-",
      "a-#English"
    ],
    [
      "go",
      "go#English"
    ],
    [
      "ergehen",
      "ergehen#German"
    ],
    [
      "āgangan",
      "agangan#Old_Saxon"
    ],
    [
      "𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽",
      "𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽#Gothic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "postp",
      "glosses": [
        "Before now, before the present time"
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "5bba85fb0b835eeec4abe7a8ee7685b590d26b9256d6e64ae6ed193b5849a413",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 174017
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Gone; gone by; gone away; passed; passed away.",
        "Nearly gone; dead. (used in Devonshire at the turn of the 19th century)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "dialectal",
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "ac1092526147594bb95ad7897363a7ab028b7d28fc76a5498e9bfc964aea83f7",
      "rawRecordSha256": "0061aa411bba84b8f35fe061c8b238a95f994c1063e61b3b667da09dbffa39ab",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 174018
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for ago →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YWdv